Måned: april 2014

Not a lot is being revealed about the upcoming Guns Nâ€™ Roses residency at the Hard Rock Hotel, but it will have lots of surprises, lead guitarist DJ Ashba said.

When asked what will be different from the bandâ€™s first Hard Rock residency, he said mischievously, â€œjust live sex shows.â€

And this is why we love rock stars.

Joking aside, this is what we do know: Things are going to be blown up.

â€œLast time, we had those crazy aerial artists and strippers everywhere,â€ Ashba said. â€œThereâ€™s been a lot of talk about doing some really cool stuff and pushing the limit even further, which will be a lot of fun.â€

Their nine-show residency opens right before Memorial Day weekend, and the band is still working on developing the show.

â€œA show like what weâ€™re going to bring to the Hard Rock isnâ€™t done overnight,â€ he said. â€œItâ€™s going to take still even more planning right up to probably show time.Â Thereâ€™s a lot that goes into a show like this.â€

Guns Nâ€™ Roses typically puts on three-hour shows, running through much of their hit-heavy catalog.

â€œThatâ€™s typically just a normal show for us,â€ he said. â€œBut I have no idea. Itâ€™s kind of up in the air right now. We want to come in and give the fans a really kick-ass rock â€˜nâ€™ roll experience and thatâ€™s our only goal.â€

The first GNâ€™R residency, â€œAppetite for Democracy,â€ opened at The Joint at theÂ Hard Rock HotelÂ in 2012. Like the previous Hard Rock residency, the entire property has been transformed into a sort of Guns Nâ€™ Roses campus. Front line staff are wearing GNâ€™R shirts. TheÂ Center Bar, elevators, windows, the resortâ€™s exterior, and so on, are wrapped in the bandâ€™s residency artwork. Drinks and dishes at the resortâ€™s bars and restaurants are named after the bandâ€™s popular songs.

â€œI think they even have the little poker chips,â€ Ashba said.

Chas Smith, vice president of entertainment at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, said the campus atmosphere is all-encompassing.

â€œWe found that having every team member involved, versus just the entertainment department, really helps get the word out there,â€ Smith said.

For Ashba, who lives in Las Vegas, the residency at the GNâ€™R campus is like a month-long slumber party.

â€œItâ€™s almost like band camp,â€ he said. â€œYou get a chance to really get close to your fan base. You run into them in the hallways â€¦Â and itâ€™s just cool.

â€œOur fan base is just the most dedicated, really cool fan base you can ever dream of having. Itâ€™s a lot of fun partying with them and hanging out. Their appreciation for what we do is cool. Itâ€™s overwhelming.â€

More than that, the residency will give the band some much-needed time together to weed through about three albums worth of already recorded, but not-yet-releasedÂ music for a new album, Ashba said.

â€œThis is going to be a great opportunity for this band, to finally be in one place for a solid month,â€ he said.

But even a rock star needs a break. As a Las Vegas resident, Ashba said many visitors are missing out on much of what Vegas has to offer.

â€œI think thereâ€™s a whole Vegas that people never get a chance to experience and thatâ€™s the local scene,â€ Ashba said. â€œVegas is so cool off the Strip. Thereâ€™s so many cool little places, little bars off the Strip. Vampâ€™d is a cool one. A lot ofÂ gun ranges, which is fun, because I love shooting guns. Just tons of stuff to do. Vegas is one of those places that never closes.

â€œIf you have a bad time in Vegas, then itâ€™s not everyone around you. Itâ€™s you. Pretty much youâ€™re just an aâ€“hole (laughs). Itâ€™s hard not to have a good time, though.â€

When Axl Rose and crew are on stage, they will offer a show that would be next to impossible to do on the road.

â€œYouâ€™ve got to tear down and move on to the next city, so (the residency) definitely allows us to do a much cooler show,â€ Ashba said. â€œItâ€™s an experience of a lifetime. Itâ€™s going to be different from any other Guns Nâ€™ Roses show youâ€™ve ever experienced.â€

Ron Thal: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU ! ! ! to everyone that came to the show tonight & gave their support for this important causeÂ Â And to all the great performers, to everyone at the venue, and ***WAF*** for all they doÂ Love you all, was a pleasure to be with you all tonightÂ

The Revolver Golden Gods Awards Show â€” pesented by Epiphone â€” has announced that Guns Nâ€™ Roses founding bassist Duff McKagan will join the band for their headlining performance at this yearâ€™s event. The event is set for April 23 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles.

The performance will be McKaganâ€™s first time sharing the stage with Guns Nâ€™ Roses in the U.S. after joining the band for several South American dates throughout April. Also added to the lineup is a performance by Suicide Silence, marking the bandâ€™s first U.S. appearance with their new vocalist, Hernan â€œEddieâ€ Hermida.

The 2014 Revolver Golden Gods Awards Show and â€œBlack Carpetâ€ pre-show will stream live on Amazon, VH1.com, VH1Classic.com and the VH1 App on April 23, and VH1 Classic will air the show on May 24. Tickets for the show are available at axs.com.

Previously announced, Gun Nâ€™ Roses frontman Axl Rose will take home this yearâ€™s Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award. Also on the 2014 lineup is legendary rocker Joan Jett, who will take her place in Revolver Golden Gods history as the first female recipient of the Golden God Award. In addition to being the debut U.S. performance with new vocalist Hernan â€œEddieâ€ Hermida, a special set from Suicide Silence will include a guest appearance by Max Cavalera (founding frontman of Sepultura, Soulfly, Nailbomb and Cavalera Conspiracy, and a member of the new supergroup Killer Be Killed). Guns Nâ€™ Roses, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts and Suicide Silence will join an already announced lineup featuring performances by A Day to Remember, Zakk Wylde and The Pretty Reckless.